Action for happiness

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Action for happiness
legal form Non-profit organization under English law
founding 2010
founder Richard Layard , Anthony Seldon, Geoff Mulgan, Mark Williamson
Seat London , UK (Action for Happiness)
Heckenbeck , Germany (Action for Happiness Deutschland eV)
purpose Happiness in the world
method Positive psychology , adult education , social media
Chair Mark Williamson
Members over 180,000 (worldwide)
Website International / UK:
www.actionforhappiness.org (Engl.)
Germany:
www.actionforhappiness.de

Action for Happiness (AfH) is a charity based in England. The aim is to increase the happiness in the world by bringing like-minded people from all walks of life together and helping them take practical steps to build a happier, more caring society based on the latest scientific research. The patron of Action for Happiness is the Dalai Lama . The charity has over 180,000 members in 180 countries and over 1,000,000 subscribers on Facebook.

founding

AfH was founded in 2010 by Richard Layard (Director of the Wellbeing Program at the Center for Economic Performance and Professor Emeritus of Economics at LSE), Sir Anthony Seldon (Historian and Vice Chancellor of the University of Buckingham), Geoff Mulgan (CEO of Nesta and former CEO of the Young Foundation) and Dr. Mark Williamson (who was its director from the start).

AfH was originally started within the Young Foundation before becoming an independent, registered charity in January 2018.

Definition of happiness

Action for Happiness poster about the "10 keys to a happier life"

AfH explains that “happiness means feeling good about yourself and wanting to continue to live that way. Unhappiness means feeling bad and wanting things to change. ”So AfH supports subjective well-being as a definition of happiness .

AfH supports people in understanding that everyone has an inner world and mental health, and that everyone can choose to take care of their mental health, in good times and bad. Just as choosing to exercise and eat well for physical health, you can also take care of your mind by strengthening abilities to live happily.

Keys to a happier life

AfH is promoting 10 keys to a happier life, compiled by Action for Happiness under the direction of Vanessa King - based on the latest research in positive psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics and biology. Research suggests that these ten key areas are within the individual's sphere of influence and have a positive impact on people's happiness and wellbeing. They result in the acronym GREAT DREAM. The first five keys (GREAT) relate to the interaction with the outside world. They are based on the five pathways to wellbeing developed as part of the Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing . The second five keys (DREAM) relate to the inner world and the person's attitude to life.

Activities and products

One of the activities of the AfH is the implementation of 8-week “Exploring What Matters” courses, organized by volunteers in 250 locations around the world and supported “wholeheartedly” by the Dalai Lama . AfH creates monthly calendars of actions people can take to improve their happiness. These calendars were downloaded by 2.5 million people in 2018. These daily promotions are also available via the Action for Happiness app.

AfH coordinates a network of happy cafes across the UK and around the world. Happy Cafes are “a friendly and welcoming place to meet other people with a common interest in promoting happiness and wellbeing”. AfH holds monthly events in London where experts speak on topics related to happiness.

Supervisory bodies and expert advisors

Richard Layard is a member of the AfH supervisory board and Daniel Kahneman and Martin Seligman of the AfH expert advisory group .

Local and national groups

In many countries there are local groups and local activities. There are national groups in Australia and Germany that are legal entities in their countries.

Situation in Germany

In Germany there has been a non-profit association "Action for Happiness Germany eV" since 2018, which wants to disseminate the materials and approaches of AfH in German-speaking countries. The materials for the volunteer-led course “Explore what matters”, information on “Happy Cafés”, the “10 keys to a happier life” were translated. The monthly calendars are also always updated in German.

Reaction and criticism

AfH was praised in The Guardian for recapturing happiness from capitalism by helping people seize means to empower wellbeing, and advocating a “new science of happiness that focuses on social behavior and personal Relationships focused instead of material possessions and appearance. "

AfH was also criticized in the same newspaper for taking an individual approach to happiness rather than focusing on negative societal issues like inequality .

The Telegraph introduced AfH in 2016 with an interview with Dr. Mark Williamson in front. Regarding the increasing number of people receiving treatment for mental health problems, he said, “We believe that you can help people develop better habits before this happens. We now have the beginnings of a culture of preventive approach to physical health problems, with anti-smoking and obesity campaigns. I think the next 20 years will be about being massively proactive about mental health and social and emotional wellbeing and really thinking about what happiness is and how it can be achieved. "

Journalist Janet Street-Porter took the 8-week AfH course Exploring What Matters 2015. She said, “I really enjoyed the company of these strangers - this is a first. I can heartily recommend the course if you are feeling lonely or unhappy. "

The journalist Katherina Kühn reported positively on Deutschlandfunk about her participation in the course and welcomed the scientific foundation of the course.

credentials

  1. ↑ Action For Happiness . In: Charity Commission . Registered Charity (1175160) and Limited Liability Company (10722435) in England and Wales.
  2. ↑ About Us. Action for Happiness, accessed April 4, 2020 .
  3. ^ Action for Happiness. Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Answers to skeptics. Action for Happiness, accessed April 4, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Mark Williamson: Ten easy steps to happier living . In: The Guardian , November 3, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2019. 
  6. ^ Mental capital and wellbeing. In: gov.uk. Government of the United Kingdom, October 22, 2008, accessed April 4, 2020 .
  7. ^ Mark Easton: Evening classes that promise to make you happy . In: BBC News . September 21, 2015 ( bbc.com [accessed April 4, 2020]).
  8. ↑ Our Achievements in 2018. Action for Happiness, accessed on April 4, 2020 .
  9. ^ Stan Rosenthal: Action for Happiness' Happy Cafes spread positivity around the UK. In: Positive.News. May 12, 2015, accessed April 4, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Happy Cafe Network. Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
  11. ^ Action for Happiness. In: Eventbrite. Retrieved April 4, 2020 (UK English).
  12. ^ Expert Advisory Group. Action for Happiness, accessed April 4, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Nina Power: Happiness has been consumed by capitalism | Nina Power . In: The Guardian . April 12, 2011, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed April 4, 2020]).
  14. ^ David Harper: The sad truth about the Action for Happiness movement . In: The Guardian . February 21, 2012, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed April 4, 2020]).
  15. ^ Mick Brown: How to teach yourself to be happy in just eight weeks. The Telegraph, accessed April 4, 2020 (UK English).
  16. ↑ Janet Street-Porter tries the Action for Happiness Course on YouTube , accessed April 4, 2020
  17. ↑ Psychology - What Makes Us Happy. Deutschlandfunk Kultur, March 7, 2020, accessed on April 4, 2020 (German).

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